Damn, that has to be one of the best sting-within-a-stings I’ve seen since…well, since The Sting.
Awesome episode.
Wow. Best episode in quite a while, and that’s saying something. I was kind of expecting the deal with the Russian to be a set-up, but they still had me worried right until the end.
And I love the way Vic keeps implicating Aceveda every time Kavanaugh’s around.
Also, nice spazz out by Whitaker.
Loved the sting. Fucking Mackey is just too slick.
So they knew about the bug in the trophy when they had the hottie lawyer in their room. Why did they let on that they knew that Lem was wired? Obviously IAD suspected it but why confirm it? Just to fuck with them?
I think the important part was that they mentioned that they felt the wire on him, to let IAD know that although they know about the wire, Lem didn’t tell them about it. I had a feeling they knew all along that the room was bugged, but it was still a great twist in the end.
The storyline this season has been one of the most interesting things I’ve seen on TV in years.
What a great episode. I was completely turned around the entire time. When Vic was getting cuffed, I was trying to imagine what the rest of the season was going to be like without him on the team and so on. They got me.
Let’s not forget that we found out that Claudette has Lupus. The wierd thing is, that I don’t see them taking that story line anywhere–which bugs me. It seemed they were really going to do something with her character.
Could we be seeing the start of a Dutch and Hot Rookie relationship? Maybe she’s just pulling on old Dutch’s strings to keep on someone’s good side.
Kavanaugh’s flip out was great. That’s exactly how I would have felt in that situation. And Vic and the boys were having a great time rubbing it in with the “We’ll just beat IAD again next year” in reference to the softballl tournament.
Is anyone else picking up on anything between Vic and the lawyer? I really sense that something is going to happen between them.
Best. Show. Ever.
What about Dani and Vick’s conversation about the father of the baby? I think Vick suspects he may be the father and I think Dani may have confirmed it yesterday.
I’ve been enjoying the show vicariously through my husband until the last few weeks. It’s on too late for me, but I’ve been forcing myself to stay up to watch. I wish the networks had the balls to air this kind of programming all the time. I love the realism, and the fact that Mackey, like many big-city cops, isn’t the shining knight police are so frequently portrayed as.
I’ve noticed that the photography has been very dark. My husband says it didn’t used to be like that. But with the character getting into darker situations all the time, it really accentuates the whole tone of the show.
I anticipated the sting last night, but it still rocked. The meltdown was awesome. Great show!
I think they are trying to lead us to that conclusion, but I don’t think it is the case. I don’t have a good reason why, just a hunch. I do think it will be someone we know from the show–but a huge suprise. Maybe Aceveda or someone along those lines that we would never suspect.
What a great setup. Bring in the lawyer to make it seem they’re desperate for the 10k. Then making a deal with the russian guy for the same 10k to trap Kavanaugh.
I’m surprised IAD found out who the lawyer actually was, but I guess they can’t really do anything with her due to lawyer/client privilege.
This show really messes with me. Why am I rooting for Mackey and treating Kavanaugh like he’s the bad guy? It doesn’t make sense, logically.
I think this is what makes this show interesting. Mackey is definitely a bad guy–really bad. I don’t usually support guys who knowingly let drug dealers deal, shoot victims without cause, or kill cops–but I can’t stop myself.
I’m new to the show this season. How many men could she have boinked in the right time window for them to be the father? Did they show her being intimate with anyone last season?
I disagree. What makes this show interesting is that no one is all good or all bad. Vic does a lot of good even though he’s corrupt. And the IAD guys are ruthlessly out to get Vic, treating people like Vic’s CI like pawns. It’s all about the moral ambiguity, man!
I’ve watched enough of this show (like every episode 
) to have been suspicious that the whole Russian thing was a set-up by Vic. Remember, hot lawyer chick told Vic he had to make it look like IAD was getting in the way of good police work. But don’t worry. The writers will tilt it the other way next time and Cavanaugh will pull one over on Vic-- porbablly involving his ex-wife if the previews are to be believed.
The show highlights the fact that no one is all good or all bad. Mackey is corrupt, and he’s a murderer, but he also cares about innocent people, kids and abused women. He honestly wants to do good and his corruption actually arose from that—he thought that by keeping one gang in charge and the others in line, he would cut down on the violence and the toll on innocent people, especially since he’s pretty sure that SOMEONE is going to sell the drugs no matter what. And if he profited a little, well, that just made up for the inequities of police salaries. Until the profit became more important than keeping the peace and he wound up killing to protect it.
But he drew back from the corruption once it became clear that he couldn’t walk that line any longer—only he still has to deal with the fallout.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ledger, you have someone like Aceveda, who is ostensibly a law-abiding good guy…who, despite the best intentions, has caused tremendous damage to the police and his own community through his ruthless political ambition. And eventually he allowed his personal ambition and personal passions to rule his life, maintaining a relationship with a prostitute and then sanctioning the jail murder of the man who raped him.
Now, we also have Kavanaugh, who SHOULD be the good guy, but is turning into Captain Ahab chasing the Great White Corrupt Cop. Eventually, it will lead him down the same road.
The only person who has remained unstained in this show is Claudette Wymms, and she’s only been able to do this by basically becoming disengaged from the poliltics and just doing her job—which has also marginalized her.
I agree with your assertions, but I still feel that I wouldn’t normally be rooting for a guy like this. I am drawn to what he does for good, but how can I let that overshadow the terrible things he has done?
I understand that the show is all about the moral dilemnas each character faces–this is what carries the premise of the show. However, if I hated Mackey–I’m sure I wouldn’t still be watching after all these years. The only thing that keeps me interested is the fact that I am rooting for a team of bad guys. I can call them bad despite of their good intentions and actions, because of what I have seen them do. I’m sure that if you knew I had murdered someone, you would probably see me in a different light–even if you thought I was a good guy in some respects.
Now I’m thinking way too much about this. It’s just a show. It’s just a show…
That didn’t even click with me when I was watching the episode. Good catch.
Do you watch “24”? We all root for Jack Bauer as he tortures people…
Down with Torture! Gimme Torture, from Sunday’s NYT editorial page.
Yeah, I almost posted about 24 being the same type of scenario.
I think the difference, is that Jack uses force to save thousands of people while serving his country. He is really incredibly unselfish. Mackey is in it for himself (mostly). What he does is not for the benefit of a large group of people.
Maybe we need to start a thread about shows that make you root for the “bad” guy.
I think pretty much every character on The Sopranos beats anyone on The Shield in terms of scumminess - in fact, there’s far less moral ambiguity at work; the people are written to play up their viciousness and pettiness - yet I still find myself rooting for them, while at the same time being disgusted by them. That’s a testament to good writing and acting (as is The Shield). I haven’t seen 24 or Deadwood, but I gather they’re similar.
Deadwood has sympathetic characters. 24 tries to have them, but they are either ruined by bad acting [Audrey] or Jack simply kills them [Audrey’s ex-husband].
The Sopranos characters are vile, but good writing, storytelling and acting make the show enjoyable. However, I root for none of them, except for them all to piss off Michael Corleone and finish the sixth season like all the other Corleone enemies finished the movies (except for Tony’s daughter, who becomes my sex slave as punishment).
The Shield has a few. Dutch and Claudette come to mind; Danni somewhat; Ronny and Lem. I wonder if the kitten thing with Dutch was dropped - an angle which they decided not to explore further down the line. If so, I applaud them. Personally, I didn’t like where I thought that might be headed. There are enough issues, as-is, in Farmington.
But don’t you hate the fact that we have no idea why Dutch went psycho on the kitties? I wanted to see some sort of resolution for that action.
I don’t know if I can consider Ronny and Lem in this category. They have been a part of a lot, even if they didn’t know about Terry being killed by Vic.
Danni is an interesting case. She has covered for Vic in the past, and I think she would do it again. Don’t know if she counts or not.
RikWriter was correct in pointing out that Claudette is the only character that has remained unvilified to this point.